


i am too rich to compete

by ThirteenthMouse6572



Series: The Rich Johnny Universe (RJU) [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Australia, Australian Slang, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Rich Johnny, Sort Of, may seem like there’s angst but there isn’t, part of the RJU, pdobably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-08-03 23:11:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16335026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThirteenthMouse6572/pseuds/ThirteenthMouse6572
Summary: mark has to go stay with his uncle johnny and his friends while he’s in australia. it’s probably the best and worst thing he’s ever done





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be shorter but it turned out to Not Be
> 
> i’m sorry in advance

when mark’s mother told him he would be staying with his ‘uncle johnny’ while he was in australia, mark didn’t know what to think. he knew only the basic details of this ‘johnny seo’ he was seeing; he lives with some friends, he’s in a band, and in year 10 he looked like an emo. only the important details.

so, when he stepped onto the escalator to baggage collection and saw a very tall man beside another who was significantly smaller, he was slightly surprised when his brain went 'that's him'. he stepped off the escalator and walked towards the two men, the taller of which smiled when he noticed mark. "mark lee, correct?" the taller asked. mark nodded in response. "i'm your uncle, johnny seo," the man introduced himself. "but you can call me johnny if it's easier. this is my friend, ten." johnny gestured to the shorter man - who mark noted was shorter than himself - who waved.

"johnny hasn't shut up about his nephew coming to visit for the past week," ten said, earning a slap on the stomach by johnny.

"how about you get mark's bags for him?" johnny asked ten, but mark didn't think it was a question. ten shrugged and got the details of mark's suitcase from mark. "sorry about him," johnny apologised as ten jogged over to the baggage carousel, "he's always like that. ignoring him doesn't work, we've all tried our best." mark breathed out sharply in amusement. "what has your mum told you about me? i'm curious."

mark recounted all the facts his mother had told him, including the 'emo year 10' version of johnny. "she even showed me your yearbook photos," he added, smiling as he remembered the photos. "not going to lie, though. it looked pretty good."

johnny looked betrayed by his sister's antics and didn't reply, giving the two enough time to be interrupted by another man. "talkin' 'bout john's old year 10 look?" he asked. "as i said before, and i'll say it again, i put up with that through year 10 and it was slightly the reason i started dating him." johnny sighed loudly as the newcomer swung an arm across his shoulders. "sorry mate," he said to mark, "i'm jaehyun, john's husband."

mark's mother didn't mention that.

"problem with that, kid?" jaehyun asked when mark didn't immediately react, an edge to his voice.

"oh for goodness sake, jae," johnny said. "don't scare my nephew. you can't just spring the fact i am married to a man out of nowhere, still at the airport." johnny turned to mark with an apologetic smile. "jae hasn't had a coffee today, and is annoyed that he dragged himself out of bed at 5 amto get here."

"it's because he doesn't trust us together, johnny," ten rejoined the conversation, this time with mark's suitcase behind him. mark went to take the handle, but ten just gently pushed his hand away, saying that he'll take the bag.

"damn fuckin' right i don't trust you two together. last time you were left alone there was sticky notes everywhere and it took me and kun at least 3 days to get them all down. we still find them around the house," jaehyun said, pulling keys out of his pocket and twirling them around his finger. "now let's go so i can get some shitty maccas black coffee."

mark frowned. "what's 'maccas'?" he asked, regretting it when all three stared at him like he has just committed a murder.

"mcdonalds," johnny replied. "the aussie way of saying mcdonalds is 'maccas'. be prepared to hear that everywhere, including the ads on tv." mark just nodded in reply, even though he had no idea what was going on. "come on now, child, let's go get coffee that jaehyun will scull before we leave the drive-thru and then complain about it the entire ride home."

"i do not complain, it's just that their coffee is shit," jaehyun said, which proved what johnny claimed. johnny just nodded while smiling, and ten laughed at jaehyun. "let's just go before i leave you shits here and you have to get an uber," jaehyun grumbled.

———

the car ride was eventful, to say the least. mark was put in the back seat with ten, who showed mark all the saved photos and videos on his instagram. jaehyun did pull into a mcdonalds and order a black coffee (plus a box of chicken nuggets that johnny and ten pestered him for), which he also sculled and then complained about until johnny shoved a chicken nugget in his mouth. "now, markles," johnny said, mouth half-full of nugget, "there are... a couple of people that live at our house. do not be alarmed, you'll get to know them really quickly."

"how many people?" mark asked, taking the last nugget from the stash ten had put on the arm rest between their seats.

johnny made a facial expression that mark assumed was mental math, before saying, "uh, approximately 10. maybe more if you count people who stay over sometimes."

mark stared at johnny and received a pat on the shoulder from ten. "10 people live in your house?" he asked. "how big is it that it can fit so many people?" johnny stayed silent and looked out the windshield, which made mark realise they were pulling into a driveway for a house that looked like it cost more than anything mark would ever make in his life.

"about this big," jaehyun replied for johnny.

this was another thing mark's mother didn't mention.

as they stopped in the driveway and jaehyun turned off the car, mark was still staring at the house in awe. "you haven't seen anything yet!" ten shouted, scrambling his way out of the car and running towards the front door, where a brown-haired male who looked like he was in his early 20s was standing. mark was interrupted from watching ten and the man say their 'hello's by johnny stepping in front of the door and opening it for mark.

"come on, you should meet everyone," johnny said. mark stepped out of the car - which definitely did not match the house - and walked with johnny towards the front door, where jaehyun was disappearing into the house. "mark, this is taeyong," johnny said, introducing the man ten was talking to. "taeyong, this is my nephew, mark."

taeyong nodded. "nice to meet you. i apologise that ten was one of the first people you had to meet out of the household," he said, making ten whine. "don't be too disturbed by the fact that all the lights are out, electricity bills get high and also yuta got home late yesterday and is sleeping in."

mark followed taeyong and johnny inside the house - which did have all lights out - and was led to the living room, where two people were lying down on the couch watching youtube on the tv. one of them looked up at johnny and sighed. "does this mean we have to get off the couch?" he asked, groaning as he put his hands on the other's shoulders.

"no, taeil, just stay there. don't wake up win," johnny replied. "mark, this is taeil and sicheng. taeil, this is mark. tell win he's here whenever he wakes up. 

taeil raised his entire arm in the air in a greeting. "hello mark. i'll get sicheng to say hi whenever he feels like getting off my thighs."

"don't worry," mark said. "i'm sure i'll meet him later." taeil smiled and lied his head back on the pillow it was resting on before and closed his eyes.

"let's go find everyone else," johnny said, turning around and guiding mark upstairs.

johnny introduced him to everyone else who lived in the house - jungwoo, who was half-asleep and listening to something on his computer when they met, doyoung and kun, who were in the rumpus room trying to fix a broken projector, and yuta, who had only woken up because of the car pulling into the driveway. johnny finally led mark to a bedroom near the end of the hallway. "this will be your room for the time you stay here," he said, opening the door and letting mark walk inside.

the room was definitely spacious, being slightly smaller than the entire lounge room back home. a large queen bed sat in the middle of the room, facing a built-in wardrobe with mirrored doors, and a desk sat underneath a window that was letting light in. mark definitely liked the room.

"we have a couple other spares, so if you don't like this one it's okay," johnny said, looking a bit awkward standing in the doorway of the room.

mark shook his head. "no, no, i like it," he assured his uncle. "i'm just not used to having a room this big."

johnny looked lost for words. "oh," he said, "this is one of the smallest bedrooms in the house." mark just stared at him, not knowing what to say. "i'll leave you to get settled in, come downstairs whenever you're ready. i'm pretty sure kun is making lunch and he makes the best food i've ever tasted.”

he left the room with a smile, leaving mark alone. mark stood still for a while, unsure what to do with himself, until he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. he took it out and noticed all the messages that his friends had sent him. he walked over to the bed and sat down on it to answer the messages. as soon as he touched the mattress, mark decided that he definitely did not want to leave the bed. he lied on his side and unlocked his phone, reading through the messages his friends sent and replying to only one of them.

**hyuckie**

mark

mark

mark

i know your plane has landed

i looked it up

mark

mark

what's ur uncle like

is he cool

*whispers* is he gay?

nah lmao

that'd be funny though

there's always a gay sibling

anyway

mark

mark

lee

merk

mirk

mork

murk

myrk

fine i'm leaving

text me

**mark**

cool thanks for spamming me hyuck

**hyuckie**

woah you're alive

i thought your uncle murdered you or something

**mark**

nope

still alive

also he is gay

or not straight at least

**hyuckie**

wait what

rlly?

**mark**

yeah he has a husband

he's vaguely scary but apparently he didn't have any coffee bc he woke up at 5 am

bc johnny doesn't know how to drive

**hyuckie**

gays can't drive

**mark**

valid

i gtg have lunch now

talk soon

**hyuckie**

don't get murdered by ur gay uncle

**mark**

i'll try not to

he texted his mum that he had made it to johnny's house safely and that he would call her after lunch. he dragged himself off the bed and over to his suitcase, opening it and taking out his phone charger. he quickly plugged in the phone and left the room, walking down the hallway and stairs into the kitchen. he saw kun in the kitchen, checking whatever was in the oven, and sicheng sitting on the bench, swinging his legs as he happily talked to kun in what mark vaguely recognised as chinese.

kun turned around to reply to whatever sicheng had said and noticed mark standing there, staring at the array of succulents by the sink. "oh! mark, hello," kun said, smiling softly. sicheng turned his head and waved excitedly.

"hi! i'm sicheng, or winwin, whichever you prefer," he introduced himself. "i assume you're mark, johnny's nephew?" mark nodded to confirm sicheng's assumption. "well, welcome to the house!" sicheng smiled and turned to kun once more. "how long 'til lunch, kunnie? i'm hungry."

kun sighed. "a while yet, win," he replied, checking his watch. "you just slept on taeil for three hours, so you didn't have breakfast, which is really your own fault."

sicheng pouted in reply, jumping off the bench. "i'm going to find yuta, maybe he has food for me." kun just nodded and smiled in reply, muttering a quiet 'you do that' that sicheng either didn't hear or chose to ignore as he walked into the living room. kun turned to mark.

"we didn't get to properly meet, since you met doyoung and i at a bad place," he said. "i'm kun, the self-appointed and also majority-appointed mother of the household. doyoung is also a mother, but he's more a soccer mum than i am." mark laughed, which made kun smile.

"well, i'm mark. johnny's canadian nephew who doesn't quite understand australian terms," mark said. "ten, jaehyun and johnny looked at me like i killed someone or something when i asked what maccas was."

kun nodded, sighing to himself. "understandable. don't worry about it, you'll either pick it up really quickly or never pick it up. it took johnny ages to figure out that g'day meant 'good day'. jaehyun never lets him live it down."

the next words that came out of mark's mouth were instinctual and also unfortunate, as mark didn't know what technology johnny had in his house. "that's so sad, alexa play down under by men at work."

kun stared at mark with an expression that was both sad and disappointed as the first bars to 'down under' started playing, echoing through the whole house.

yuta's voice was the next to echo through the house. "jaehyun i swear to god! we've told you not to use the echo for your memes!"

mark just stared ahead, which was not at kun but through him, listening as jaehyun and yuta yell at each other across the house. "will you two shut it, please!" doyoung shouted in reply. mark couldn't take him very seriously as he listened to the song that nobody had turned off yet.

"alexa, pause the music," kun said calmly, stopping the song and dousing the house in silence.

"i'm so sorry, i didn't realise you had an echo," mark apologised. "it's instinct at this point."

kun shook his head. "don't worry about it, mark," he said, walking over to the oven and pulling out what was in it, which happened to be a tray of potato chips. "chip?" he offered, which mark took. "jaehyun always plays his songs over the house speakers when he's bitter about losing a game of uno or monopoly or something."

"speaking of which," johnny joined the conversation, picking up a chip off the tray and eating it all in one bite. mark watched the look of regret on his face as it burnt his mouth. johnny turned the tap on full blast and drank from the tap like a dog with a hose pointed at it. once he had finished drinking he pointed at the chips with a pained expression, and then at mark. “how did you eat one of those so quickly?” he asked.

mark held up the still-hot chip he hadn’t taken a bite out of in reply. “i haven’t.”

“i’ve been betrayed by my own nephew,” johnny scowled jokingly. “anyway, as i was saying, it’s game night tonightbecause everyone is here for once and nobody has work.”

“you do realise that you’re going to subject mark to jaehyun and yuta together?” kun asked johnny, who nodded.

“that’s correct,” johnny replied. “he has to meet my family as well, and what better time than over a friendly game of monopoly?”

“johnny, there are many better ways you could let mark get to know everyone,” doyoung’s voice came from the living room as mark noticed him walk into the kitchen. “hello again, mark. johnny, love, you know quite well that jaehyun will lose like he usually does and annoy the crap out of everyone else.”

mark already liked the sound of that. “i’m okay with game night. i haven’t played a board game in ages,” he interrupted.

“then it’s settled!” johnny said, taking another chip from the tray. “game night is on.” he walked out of the kitchen, calling out jaehyun’s name as he did so.

doyoung took a chip from the tray as well and looked to kun. “what are we having for lunch?” he asked. “because these chips aren’t going to last very long when jaehyun figures out they’re here.”

“i ordered chinese food,” kun said. “mark, i’m not sure what you’ll eat but between us all we order almost everything so i’m sure there’s something you’ll like.”

mark shrugged. “don’t worry, i’m not a picky eater. give me an entire container of fried rice and i’m set,” he replied.

“except you’re living with us now, so you’re not going to eat an entire container of fried rice,” doyoung said. “i’m going to be upstairs with the projector again, call me when food is here.”

kun nodded with a ‘will do’ as doyoung disappeared up the stairs. “have you called your parents to tell them you’re here yet?” he asked mark, who shook his head.

“not yet, i texted mum that i would call her after lunch.”

“you should call her now, lunch won’t be here for another ten minutes or so,” kun said. “i’ll go through all the drawers to find the wifi password for you.”

“thank you,” mark said, leaving the kitchen and walking to his bedroom. he unplugged his phone and pressed his mother’s contact, listening to it ring as he sat down on the bed. 

“mark! i assume you’ve made it there safe?” his mum’s voice came through the speaker.

“yeah, uncle johnny picked me up with his husband and a friend of theirs,” mark replied. 

“wait, husband?” his mum asked. “when did he get married?”

mark shrugged, even though his mum couldn’t see him. “i’m not sure. his name’s jaehyun though and he doesn’t like mcdonald’s coffee.”

“huh, i thought he was dating–” his mum cut herself off. “well, it doesn’t matter. is jaehyun nice?”

“i haven’t talked to him much, since he was really tired when i was picked up, but he seems nice,” mark answered. “we’re going to play monopoly tonight.”

his mum sighed. “oh no,” she said. “do not let johnny be the banker, because he picks favourites and it was always his boyfriend when we played together, so he’s probably going to favour jaehyun.”

“apparently jaehyun loses a lot, so i don’t think it matters much.”

his mum hummed. “you never know,” she said. “have you settled in well?”

mark hummed in affirmation. “yeah, i’ve met all of his housemates. you didn’t tell me there was 10 of them.”

“he didn’t tell me there was 10 of them. last time there was only ten, doyoung, taeyong and yuta.”

“there’s also kun, sicheng, jungwoo, taeil and jaehyun now,” mark informed her. he heard a knock on the bedroom door and looked over to see johnny leaning against the doorframe.

“hey kid, lunch is here,” he said. mark nodded in response.

“lunch is here now, i’ll call you later,” he said.

“okay sweetheart, have fun at your uncle’s. love you,” his mum replied.

“love you too,” mark said, hanging up the phone and turning to johnny. “‘sup,” he said, getting off the bed and walking over.

“told your mum about jaehyun, i assume?” johnny asked, walking with mark down the hallway and to the stairs. mark nodded in reply. “yeah, she didn’t know i got married nor that i was dating jaehyun. i’ve got to remember to send her updates.”

“you really do,” mark replied, running into the kitchen and taking a handful of prawn chips off the counter as johnny laughed behind him.

——— 

games night occurred during dinner, when kun and doyoung made a ‘help yourself’ platter for everyone to graze on. johnny had taken the entire box of ritz crackers before anyone could complain and continuously used the ‘i bought this’ card whenever someone asked him for the box.

games night was the night mark truly figured out what everyone was like. doyoung and kun continuously gave jungwoo and winwin passes on rent, yuta accepted winwin's kisses as payment but not anyone else's, johnny did not, in fact, favour jaehyun, but mark, taeil refused to by any property that wasn't the most expensive one, and, if johnny wasn't married, mark was pretty sure he would be dating ten or taeyong with the amount of 'you love me's thrown around the room by the three to each other.

jaehyun did lose the game of monopoly (as everyone was saying from the beginning), but didn't say anything about it. what he did do, though, was play 'home among the gum trees' over the sound system and refuse to turn it off.

"he's a sore loser, don't worry," ten said as mark watched jaehyun walk up the stairs, singing along to the song loudly. "he's really bad at board games but refuses to admit it."

"johnny, can i have some ritz?" jungwoo asked, looking like he was about to fall asleep on doyoung at any moment.

"anything for you, my dear," johnny said, handing over the box to jungwoo and earning a look from everyone else.

yuta scoffed. "you've got such a soft spot for jungwoo and you aren't even dating him," he said, patting sicheng's shoulder as he leaned into yuta's side.

"yuta, i wouldn't have a soft spot for you even if i was dating you," johnny said, taking the ritz box back from jungwoo as it was handed back to him. yuta looked confused for a few seconds before seemingly coming to a realisation - based on the look on his face. mark didn't quite understand why he was confused, but didn't question it. "anyway, i've got to get up early because jaehyun's taking a conference call and doesn't like when i'm in the room. so, i'm going to bed." mark looked at the clock on the wall as johnny left, noticing it was well past midnight.

"i should go to bed as well," he said. "i've probably got to update my friends that i haven't died yet."

mark left the living room with 'goodnight's echoing behind him as he walked up the stairs and to his bedroom, unplugging his phone as he collapsed into the bed. he opened up his messages to donghyuck's contact and typed out a message.

**mark**

apparently my uncle is a hoe 

**hyuckie**

spill the tea

**mark**

i talked to my mum and apparently he dated one of his housemates named ten and didn't inform her that they had broken up before he dated jaehyun and then got married to jaehyun

**hyuckie**

oohhhhh

he is a hoe

**mark**

i think he also dated another one of his housemates bc he said 'i wouldn't have a soft spot for you if even if i was ddating you' and the guy looked really confused for a second

**hyuckie**

how many people does ur uncle live with

**mark**

9

**hyuckie**

i-

excuse me?

how big is that house what the heck

**mark**

Very Big

i'm concerned at how much money this thing cost and how they're thinking of paying it off

the bedroom i'm in rn is like,,,, the same size as my living room at home

**hyuckie**

holy shit

send a photo please

**mark**

[photo attached]

it's Big

**hyuckie**

u look tired

**mark**

i am

i just had a monopoly game and jaehyun's playing some australian song over the speakers

nobody's turned it off yet

**hyuckie**

sleep 

**mark**

i will

gn hyuck

**hyuckie**

gn bby ily

**mark**

love u 2 

'ah,' mark thought to himself as he turned off his phone and placed it on the side table, 'what fun it is having an affectionate friend that you have a crush on.' he pulled the duvet over himself and layed down in the bed, realising how tired he really was only after he got comfortable. it wasn't long before he fell asleep for the first night in his home for the next two months.


	2. Chapter 2

mark woke up late, judging by the fact that he could hear voices downstairs and that the sun outside looked pretty high in the sky. he pulled himself out of bed and, looking in the mirror, realised he had fallen asleep in his clothes from yesterday. he rifled through his suitcase and pulled out fresh clothes, quickly getting changed. he ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to fix it and gave up after he realised he'll need a brush to make it look decent.

he walked out of the bedroom and listened to the conversation happening downstairs as he did. "johnny, some of us don't have 50 million dollars and actually need to work. take mark to the city with you if you really want to go," mark recognised taeil's voice.

"what if mark doesn't want to go?" johnny whined.

"then you'll have to pester other people to go with you in your shitty 2 door holden," taeil replied. "because nobody wants to go in that thing and none of us know why you still have it."

"don't be mean to my holden," johnny said. "it works for me."

taeil sighed. "johnny, sweetheart, you haven't used that thing for ages. just sell it already."

"no." mark walked into the living room, noticing johnny and jungwoo sitting on the couch while taeil stood in an outfit mark wondered how he could pull off, especially when half the sleeves were see-through. taeil turned and saw mark walking towards them and smiled.

"mark! please go with your uncle to the city before he kills us all with his pestering."

mark shrugged. "sure. i've got nothing else to do, and it'll be nice to see around the place."

taeil turned back to johnny. "there you go, you won't be wandering around the city, out of place in your rich-boy look," he said. "i've got to go before i miss the train, bye 'woo, bye mark." jungwoo waved as taeil left the living room, and mark replied with a quick 'bye' before he walked out of hearing range and out the front door.

"what time are we going to the city?" mark asked his uncle.

johnny shrugged in reply. "not sure. i need to check the train times because you won't be able to get out of my car and there's no way jaehyun or kun will let me use their cars."

"johnny," jungwoo intercepted, "you have another car that isn't the holden."

"the fuel for that car costs too much, 'woo. i'm not driving that to the city and back," johnny replied, pushing himself off the couch. "mark, you might want to get ready because i'm going to see if kun can drive us to the train station." he left the living room and bounded up the stairs two at a time, calling out kun's name as he did so.

jungwoo sighed quietly as johnny disappeared. "i don't even know why i'm living with him aside from the fact that i'm dating people that live here," he said.

mark looked at him quizzically. "'people'?" he asked.

jungwoo looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "i wasn't supposed to say people," he murmured. "but yes, i'm dating kun and doyoung."

"huh," mark said. "that makes a lot of sense from how they were acting last night during monopoly." jungwoo ducked his head and mark swore he saw a blush. 

"you should go get ready, johnny will be ready soon and he will leave without you if you're not," jungwoo said. mark nodded his head.

"good idea. bye jungwoo," he said, heading back to his room and digging through his suitcase for his toothbrush and toothpaste.

he met johnny and kun at the front door once he was finished getting ready. johnny had changed since mark last saw him, now wearing a floral button-up and black jeans. he did look like a 'rich boy', as taeil said. "ready to rock 'n roll?" johnny said, opening the front door and leaving without waiting for an answer. kun shook his head and followed him out the door, shouting a 'goodbye' to jungwoo, with mark close behind. 

* * *

the train carriage mark and johnny sat in was empty, aside from a couple sitting on the opposite side. mark watched intently as the towns and stations passed by, while johnny scrolled by on his phone on the seat opposite him.

"hey, johnny?" mark said, looking to his uncle. "how much money do you have?"

johnny looked up and shrugged. "i don't know. i haven't checked my balance in a while," he replied. "why's that?"

"taeil said you had 50 million dollars," mark said. "how did you even get that much money?"

"i won the lottery. also i’m the ceo of jaehyun’s company, but i won the lottery."

mark choked on his own spit and had to take a few seconds to stop coughing. "you're your husband's boss?" johnny nodded. "then why did he have to take a conference call and you didn't?"

"everyone i work with doesn't actually know that i'm the ceo, and those who do live with me. in everyone else's eyes, jaehyun is the ceo and i'm his assistant. very convenient, really," johnny replied. 

"so, you're lying to your entire company?" mark questioned. "is that legal?"

"i'm not lying," johnny retorted. "i'm just not correcting them. the files are there if any of them want to look into it, i'm not stopping them from figuring things out."

mark nodded slowly. "okay then, my uncle is the ceo of a company, rich, and i had no idea."

johnny hummed in agreement. "your mother knows, but she doesn't let me send her money. blame her that you don't know about it."

mark shook his head, deciding to change the subject before things got awkward. "so, what's the city like?" he asked.

johnny thought for a moment before answering. "pretty busy. we'll get there around the time a lot of business people are taking a lunch break, so we'll have to get lunch after it's over. apologies."

mark shrugged. "it's okay. are there any good shops you'd recommend?"

"oh! there's a lot of them that i personally like. daiso near h&m, t2 and david jones are probably my favourites," johnny replied. "jae and i always go to the t2 in the queen street mall, since it's convenient to go there first. we're regulars there and i know all the employees."

"what is t2?" mark asked.

"they sell a bunch of teas and they always have samples you can test and they're amazing. jae usually gets angry at me for buying so much tea when i'm alone, but it doesn't matter because he drinks it anyway," johnny rambled. "i'll make you some canberra breakfast tea when we go home because it tastes like anzac biscuits and it's heaven."

"i have no idea what anzac biscuits are but i trust you," mark said. before johnny could reply, the train stopped and johnny looked out the window.

"this is our stop, come on. i'm going to spoil you like the rich gay uncle i'm supposed to be." mark snorted in laughter as he followed johnny off the train and up the stairs, which johnny took two steps at a time.

johnny guided him down a hill - which mark definitely thought shouldn’t be as steep as it was - and into the queen street mall. as they rode down the escalator, johnny gasped. mark looked at his uncle, and then to where his uncle was looking, which was at a shop full of pastel stationary. “i absolutely will not go in there because the office already isn’t matching with the furniture and the stationary and i don’t want kun to yell at me again,” johnny said, staring at the shop as he walked away from it.

mark stared at his uncle, confused at how he became the ceo of an entire company with 50 million dollars. johnny turned to mark after the shop disappeared around a corner. “now, t2 is just there,” he said, pointing to a store that mark could have guessed was t2, based on the bright red sign outside it. “i’m going to end up buying at least 5 boxes of tea, don’t tell jaehyun until he discovers it himself.” mark nodded, smelling the tea as soon as he stepped into the store.

he would have loved to know what he was smelling, but since he had no idea what any of the teas were made of, he could have been smelling febreze for all he knew. johnny had immediately found his way over to the bench in the middle of the store, where different tea boxes were displayed beside various jugs and pots of tea.

"hello again, johnny," the worker in the middle of the bench greeted his uncle. mark walked over to where johnny was pouring some iced tea into a paper cup. mark took a paper cup as well, letting johnny pour the tea into it. mark looked at the boxes behind the tea as he drank it. it was surprisingly nice, and he watched as johnny picked up the two different boxes behind the jug, labelled ‘turkish cherry’ and ‘strawberries and cream’.

he followed johnny around the bench, tasting the iced and hot teas presented. he took a liking to the tea labelled ‘midnight mint’, and asked johnny carefully if he could get it.

“sure kid,” johnny said, picking the box up. “just grab whatever you want, really. it doesn’t matter.” mark nodded and picked up a takeaway box of peach iced tea from a small fridge.

johnny paid for the tea (plus asking for a takeaway cup of the first tea they tried), and lead mark out of the store. “where do you want to go next?” mark asked, looking around the food court. johnny hummed slightly before turning and walking up the escalator, mark close behind.

* * *

their journey around the city led them to a jeweller’s, where johnny bought a black ring he said was for kun, two different daiso stores, a qbd, and, finally, to the food court for lunch, where they got nuggets and chips to share from red rooster. “can you see the store behind me?” johnny asked mark, holding a half-empty container of gravy that mark had been trying to avoid looking at. “the mycube store.”

mark looked over johnny’s shoulder to the store, internally wincing as he watched his uncle put the container of gravy to his lips and drink it. he nodded in reply to the question, looking back at his uncle.

“that’s the only place in the city that sells korean albums, which is a miracle,” johnny replied. “i’ve been pestering jaehyun to let me buy the rest of the love yourself series, since i have all of them except for answer.”

mark recognised the name from his many scrolling’s on twitter. “the bts album?” he asked, earning a nod. “personally, i prefer stray kids.”

johnny gestured to mark with a chip in his hand and an agreeing expression on his face. “me too. i’m really only buying these because i love collecting things, and the covers are really pretty.”

that’s another thing mark learned about his uncle, he liked anything pretty.

“anyway, if you want anything from there i’ll be happy to buy you something,” johnny said, finishing off the last of his gravy. “there are a bunch of posters and unofficial merch there as well, so pick whatever you want.” 

mark didn’t quite know what he wanted from the store, but he followed his uncle in anyway, eating the remaining chips out of the box before throwing it in the garbage. his uncle looked very out of place in the shop, a whole 6 feet of rich looking for certain albums between a handful of teenage girls talking to each other. johnny looked over at mark and beckoned him with his hand, holding up a copy of ‘i am who’. mark made his way over, gaining strange looks from some of the girls in the store. “which copy do you want?” johnny asked. “they’ve got both of them here.”

mark looked between the two, forgetting exactly which one he preferred when he looked at the concept photos. johnny clearly noticed the thoughtful look on mark’s face and took out both versions, adding them to the pile of albums he already had. “what have you even got there?” mark asked him.

“uh, all love yourself albums, your stray kids albums, shinee and i’m pretty sure i picked up a seventeen album here somewhere,” johnny replied.

“how many albums do you have at home?” mark asked as they walked up to the cashier, who didn’t look all that surprised that johny had so many albums.

johnny shrugged in reply. “couldn’t tell you. i’ve got at least 15 different groups and solo artists there though,” he said.

the cashier let johnny pay for the albums and wished him and mark a nice rest of their day. johnny checked the time on his watch as they walked out, and mark briefly noticed it was around 3 pm.

“we should be heading home soon," johnny said. “it sucks going home on a train when everyone leaves work. is there anywhere else you wanted to go?"

mark shook his head, and they started heading back to the train station. they did stop for bubble tea on the way, and mark found it a miracle that johnny could carry 5 bags worth of stuff in one hand and a bubble tea in the other, but there were a lot of things mark didn't know about his uncle.

they just made it onto the train before it left, giggling to themselves as they realised they were on a carriage all to themselves (again). "apparently you're a good luck charm," johnny said. "i never get empty carriages when i'm with anyone else."

mark shrugged. "you can't keep me around forever, though," he said. "no matter how much of a good luck charm i am." johnny nodded in reply, smiling. "also, i'm holding you to that promise of making me tea when we get home."

johnny laughed, and mark laughed along with him. "of course," he replied. "you've got to experience the wonders of drinking hot tea in the middle of spring." mark somewhat regretted what the said, forgetting that it was spring in australia, but was excited for the tea nonetheless.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed!


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